A Piece of History Comes Home

by Steddon Sikes

It was a piece of York College history that President Wayne Baker was able to say, “I didn't know that” when Mark L. Buckley talked about the transaction his grandfather Winton W. Buckley and his brother C. W. Buckley conducted in 1916 as the owners of York Business College. Winton and his brother sold the downtown business college and assets to YC but kept back a single Underwood No. 5 typewriter for a memento. Mark’s father, Winton W. Buckely II, who is now 80, wanted his son to return it where it might be appreciated for generations to come. The typewriter was in service before the United States entered into World War I but is still in excellent condition. The keys do not display the corresponding letter or number as this was a teaching tool at the college.

Along with the typewriter, the Buckley family donated the year’s corresponding catalog. The cover of the catalog tells its own interesting tale citing above York Business College and Normal School the words, "York Has No Saloons Nor Billiard Halls."

Mark, who is President of Iowa-Nebraska State Bank in South Sioux City, Nebraska, grew up in his younger years just north of York in the town of Benedict. It wasn’t until his trip back to York last week that he discovered President Baker’s office in Sack Hall is directly across the street from where his grandmother lived for many years. One last coincidence with his visit that’s worth mentioning, in the display case outside of the president’s office is a panoramic picture of the York College student body in 1916. As I looked into their faces through the glass I wondered, "Did any of you type on this machine ninety years ago?"